MusaInsitu
The objective is to give partners suitable tools to help them record banana natural biodiversity in the field. New technologies make it easy today to rely on a mobile application, allowing recording both a precise GPS localization, pictures, and as many specific descriptors as needed.
From now the in situ observations are hosted on the Musa Germplasm Information System.
We see an opportunity to at least link at best integrate information between the two systems in order to contextualize data and from ex situ collection point of view to identify gaps in collection, mainly the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre collection. From the in situ conservation point of view to identify cultivars at risks that may require repatriation.
The mobile component is based on the iNaturalist ecosystem, which consists of a website and a mobile application. With the help of the California Academy of Science, iNaturalist has built an online network to record observed biodiversity in real-time. In addition, it is possible to create "projects" inside the site, dedicated to particular research activity. As part of the RTB project, we have therefore developed the "Banana Natural Biodiversity Mapping" project, which is also popularized in our specialized research networks (MusaNet, ProMusa) as well as through the main social networks (Facebook, Twitter).
- iNaturalist: Banana Natural Biodiversity Mapping
- Facebook: BananaDiversity
- Twitter: MusaDiversity
